Bryan Wilson in 1999 referred to Secularization as “the procedure whereby spiritual thinking, practices and foundations misplace their social meaning within a particular community as time elapses” (Berger 1999, p.13). Secularization therefore, is a procedure through which spiritual activities in any community steadily wanes with time. It can be reasonably comprehended that a person who goes to the house of worship and partakes in ritualistic proceedings such as singing hymns and reciting prayers is inspired to do so by the beliefs which are linked to religion.
An effort to check the notion of rejection in religious secularization has to entail two essential opinions. It must be a proportional one. This implies that if people as a community are not fully committed to religion at present, then in the past they had not fully committed to religion. Therefore it is vital to scrutinize spiritual movement in the past and now. Secondly, because it is impossible methodologically to quantify secularization, people have to create a set of cursors. These have to be created in order for the spiritual activity to be quantified. Such cursors are likely to be things like turnout at religious services, membership of a spiritual union, time dedicated to spiritual activities and the figure of persons getting married in Churches. This is the reason why sociologists are unable to agree with comparative significance of diverse cursors.
In the well-known work the Protestant principle and the will of free enterprise, Max Weber proposed that the objective characteristics of secularization draw from the stable speed of technological advancement. This in essence was essential to the Western evolution of socio-political dynamics since Industrialization period. “The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world” (Weber 2001, p. 35).
Persons have augmented the capacity of viewing world via the scope of reasonableness. They perceive it as a sociological impact of technological advancement. This lessens the degree to which persons’ bewilderment and puzzlement in the ridiculous world impact their lives. Durkheim proposed that the augmented information on the environmental reality makes people less reliant on religion. The constant cultural and technical advancement linked to Western revolution has changed the ritual role of spiritual foundations. This has chiefly been assumed by secular societies. “Religion no longer thrills us, because many of its aspects have passed into common usage to such a degree that we are no longer conscious of them or because they do not meet our current aspirations” (Durkheim 1954, p.120 ).
People hardly believe in their declining logic of religiosity as it directly links to the growth of novel technologies. They just understand that there is a well-known wording for God which can be profound in their souls (Chadwick, 1975). Sigmund Freud pioneered the application of psychoanalytical approach which was an instrument of defining the right subtleties of secularization. According to Freud, persons’ spiritual thoughts are nothing but a sublimation of bewilderment and puzzlement on their part. Believing in God aids persons deal with their mental nervousness linked to their subliminal seek for paternal figure (Freud 1989).
The earthly view of the next generation is to be molded by the parents of that particular generation. This is independent of the family. The alteration of society towards secular might not be impelled by the break up of families or because the cultural thinking is that of secular. The informal connection to the secularization of a culture is the lack of vision among the parents of that given generation. In case the parents do not have the capacity to punish the offspring in a particular view of the customarily set up norms, the earthly view of the generation to come is due for seize.
Due to the fact that people’s minds are tainted by the curse, in most cases they have no the anticipated capacity to truly know the religious truth that guides them in life. With no religious enlightenment of people’s minds, they are likely to do what according to their thinking capacity is correct (Lechner 2001). The default view of the earth can therefore be said to be secular. It is the earthly view that in most cases results when the authority such as parents fails to show the required leadership skills to direct the younger generation.
Variations in media influence the transformations in some of the popular behaviors of the diverse religions. Secularizing involves a change in conduct and also the thoughts to a broader degree. The means of passing on these values are necessary. The coming up of the newspapers and media such as radio have had greater impacts on the culture and the feelings. People have been accredited with some obligations in historical developments such as reformation and the consumer culture (Rieff 1990).
In conclusion, it is clear that having one earthly view or the other may not have an impact on the shaping or altering the opinions of a culture over time. The aims of the realities of the post-industrial period show that it is chiefly in the Western nations that the socio-political manipulation of religion persists to be destabilized. The success of passing on one worldview or another to the next generation is what upholds cultures and thwarts the commencement of secularization.
References
Berger, P 1999, Desecularization of the World. London: Eerdmans Press.
Casanova, J 1994, Community Dogma in the Modern World 2nd Ed, New York, Macmillan Publishers.
Durkheim, E 1954, The Basic Types of Spiritual Existence. New York: The Liberated Publishers.
Lechner, F 2001, Case of Secularization, Taylor & Francis Publishers, United Kingdom.
Rieff, P 1990, The Feeling of Intellect, Prentice Hall: United Kingdom.